Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge - Steadfast Son of King George I I I, 1774-1850

Author:

Moremen, Grace E.

Year:

2003

Pages:

520

ISBN:

0-7734-6836-6978-0-7734-6836-8

Price:

349.95

This is the first full biography ever written of Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge, youngest and, arguably, favorite son of King George III. It is the thesis of this biography that of the seven surviving sons, Adolphus was most successful at internalizing the kings concept of royal duty, which enabled him to live a purposeful and productive life in a time of immense technological, political, and social change. It documents a multitude of facts long buried in archives and newspapers, which add to knowledge on such topics as the complex dynamics in the family, the nature of the Personal Union between Hanover and Britain, student life at Göttingen University; the crucial part played by the Hanoverian military in the defeat of Napoleon and Adolphuss active role as an officer; the Kingdom of Hanover during the 1830s; his happy marriage as illustrated by letters from his wife, never before published; the early years of Victorias reign, and Adolphuss devotion to many good causes. With many illustrations.

Reviews

"As a witness to four reigns, to the Napoleonic Wars, to revolution, industrialization and unprecedented social change, Adolphus's life is interesting precisely because he mirrored the uncertainties, the mixed motives, the successes and failures of his own era and the one he lived to inhabit. Because of its thorough examination of Adolphuss life drawn from original sources, many hitherto unpublished, including a number of letters from King George III, this book makes a valuable contribution to scholarship and to the literature on the Hanoverian monarchs." - Dr. Elizabeth J. Morse, Oxford

"Author Moremen appears to have unearthed every extant document, every letter, every speech, every scrap of paper pertaining to her subject. Her bibliography is sixteen pages long. There are apt illustrations and three detailed appendices. The results of this enormous labor are presented crisply and dispassionately, and yet with an underlying sympathy for its subject. For all the detail and the abundant footnotes, the writing does not plod, but moves along at an efficient and steady pace, sticking to its subject with single-minded devotion. The great events of a turbulent time - the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the battle of Waterloo, Corn Law politics, the upheavals of 1848 - these and similar events are part of the story." - Lee C. McDonald, Professor of Government, Emeritus, Pomona College

"In her vividly engrossing and meticulously researched volume, Moremen not only tells the personal story of this prince of the Hanoverian line, but opens to us a window to the tempestuous, revolutionary age in which he lived&. One of the most surprising and gratifying revelations in this biography is the remarkable liberalism of this prince who had been raised as a rigid conservative in the royal tradition. Though basically favoring the means of private charity, nevertheless he favored the Reform Bill of 1832, the measures of reform in the penal code, and was active in promoting the Association founded in 1812, for the Relief of the Manufacturing and Laboring Poor. At a time when Roman Catholics were barred from leadership, he showed liberality and flexibility during the hotly debated Catholic Emancipation Bill. At a time when Jews were highly suspect in Christian communities both in England and in Europe, he became an advocate for the Jewish Disabilities Removal Bill of 1845 and maintained close friendships with Jewish leaders." - Wilhelm H. Wuellner, Emeritus Professor, Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and Flora S. Wuellner, Adjunct Faculty Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley

"Moremen's solid work ... is the best biography of a son of George III with the possible exception of George IV. The dukes of York, Clarence, Kent, Cumberland, and Sussex await biographers of Moremen's caliber." - ALBION - A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies